Corps of Engineers Revises and Renews Nationwide Permits

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has revised and renewed nationwide permits (NWPs) necessary for work in streams, wetlands and other waters of the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The new NWPs will take effect March 19, 2017, and replace the existing permits, which expire on March 18, 2017.The two new nationwide permits are NWP 53 and NWP 54. NWP 53 provides an appropriate mechanism for an efficient authorization process for the removal of low-head dams to restore streams and enhance public safety. NWP 54 covers the construction and maintenance of living shorelines to control erosion in coastal areas.

NWP 53 – This new NWP covers the removal of low-head dams. The removal of these dams will restore rivers and streams, and will improve public safety by removing dams that can pose hazards to swimmers and to users of small recreational craft.

NWP 54 – This new NWP covers the construction and maintenance of living shorelines, a technique to protect coastal property from erosion while providing some aquatic habitat and water quality benefits.

Additionally, NWP 26 has not been assigned since 2000, and NWP 47 was in effect for only one five-year cycle (2007 to 2012).

General Permit Program

General Permits authorized in Critical Resource Waters. The Tulsa District has authorized two General Permits for work in all designated Critical Resource Waters (CRWs) in Oklahoma. The other is for Developments utilizing Low Impact Development.

Regional Conditions

During the 2017 re-authorization of the NWP's which was announced in the 6 January 2017, Federal Register notice (82 FR 1860), the Tulsa District considered the need for regional conditions for these NWPs. Below are the final regional conditions for each state in Tulsa District.

Water Quality Certifications

With each cycle of revision and reauthorization of the NWP Program, Corps Districts examine regional issues and determine the need for District-specific regional conditions. A part of this process is obtaining Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) from the appropriate Tribal Nation or State agency for those NWPs that would authorize activities under Section 404 CWA. A Tribal Nation or State's decision on WQC may result in additional conditions on the NWPs, denial of certification for specific NWPs, or denial of certification in certain sensitive waters in the state. In the Tulsa District, special conditions have been included in all WQCs. In Oklahoma the WQC has been denied in particular instances noted in WQC.

Critical Resource Waters

Another factor that influences the manner in which the NWP program is administered in various Corps Districts is the presence of designated Critical Resource Waters (CRW) within the district. NWP General Condition (GC) 22 identifies particular categories of waters as CRWs and states that the District Engineer may designate additional waters as CRWs as appropriate. Under GC 22, some of the NWPs are prohibited from use in CRWs while other NWPs require mandatory notification to the Corps in these waters. The Tulsa District has designated specific waters in Oklahoma possessing high aquatic resource quality and value as CRWs. The CRWs is available in the following link.